This invention is an improvement over my earlier invention covered in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,221 issued Aug. 15, 1989 for a Fishing Rod Holder.
As stated in the earlier application, fishing is a very serious sport and pastime for very many people, and, as in almost all other sports, it requires certain gear. For the typical fisherman, this usually means some form of fishing pole, not to mention an almost endless array of reels, lines, lures, floats, sinkers, etc.
Considering the poles, they must be as light as possible while still being strong enough to bring in the fish one is trying to catch. They must also be flexible and resilient enough to bend when the fish begins to tug and try to get off the hook. In other words, an ideal fishing rod must have every special characteristics, and a fishing rod with the ideal combination of lightness, strength, and flexibility can be a work or art, and quite expensive.
On the other hand, in achieving its maximum effectiveness for its prime purpose, it becomes very delicate physically for any other purpose. It is not designed for and cannot take other stresses. It cannot be stepped on or hit with a hard object, or even roughly handled without potential damage. A fishing pole is no more suitable for use as a bat as a bat would be for a fishing pole.
Fishing rods are also awkward to handle when not actually in use. They are long and spindly, and hard to grasp anywhere but their handle. They can be stored at home safely enough, but when they must be carried to and from the fishing grounds they can be cumbersome and very-much in the way. It is hard to find a place for them and they usually end up lying around where other gear may be dropped on them or they may be stepped on and broken or damaged.
This situation is magnified in a fishing boat to or from fishing grounds in a potentially heavy sea where fisherman and their gear may be bouncing around the boat.
This situation is very-much alleviated by the use of the special brackets for a fishing pole taught in my earlier patent that will hold the pole in a fixed position, out of the way of other gear in a boat. This device is easily accessible, and permits the pole to be stored or removed for use in a very short time. It also holds the fishing pole firmly under rough conditions but will cushion it against shock from any source.
However, it is still somewhat difficult to mount the fishing pole within its cushioned mountings, particularly in a seaway or other awkward conditions. For one thing, one end of the pole must be aligned with the opening in the diaphragm of one of the brackets and pushed through that diaphragm far enough for the other end to be pushed back through the other diaphragm; again, after alignment with the other diaphragm opening.
A further limitation of the necessity of inserting each end of a pole through an opening, in succession, is that only two end-access brackets can be used, and there are many situations where longer, or heavier, poles may need three or more brackets for secure mounting under rough conditions.
Another limitation is in that the radial cut sections of the flexible diaphragm become increasingly resistant to larger diameter objects. This is quite a factor with a fishing pole, where the tip is only a fraction of an inch, but the handle may be ten or twenty times the diameter of the tip. The increasing resistance of the diaphragm to the handle is an obstacle in the use of the basic device.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved, and simplified, safe mounting for fishing poles under rough conditions.
It is a further object of this invention to provide additional side openings in the upper quadrant of each of the brackets, so that both ends of the fishing rods can be dropped into several brackets quickly and easily and simultaneously.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved mounting for fishing poles that can more readily and easily accomodate radical differences in diameters at the ends of the poles.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple mounting for the ends of a fishing pole wherein the problem of resistance to larger diameters can be reduced by changes in the thickness of the diaphragm along the radial cut sections to make it almost as easy to fit in the handle as it is to fit in the tip of the rod.
It is a further object of this improvement to provide a simpler, more effective holder for either end of a fishing pole that is more compact, that is more adaptable to varying sizes of poles, and that provides gradiations of pressure on the varying thicknesses of the poles.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a mounting and holder for a fishing pole that permits the pole to be fitted into the holders, easily and quickly, from the side without having to thread the pole in from either end; all this while still retaining the firm yet cushioned support for the fishing pole under adverse conditions.